Americans Have Spent a Ridiculous $5.9 Billion Fixing Their iPhones

People sure do love their iPhones, but they also can't seem to stop dropping them—good news for the booming iPhone-repair business. In fact, a recent accident survey by SquareTrade found that the American population has spent nearly $5.9 billion fixing their damaged phones since the first device hit the market in 2007.

These figures include the total cost for repairing and replacing those broken or otherwise harmed iPhones. Thirty percent of iPhone users reported damage within the last 12 months. Interestingly, the survey reveals that accidental damage is 10 times more likely to occur than loss or theft, with nearly half of the population’s iPhone users under the age of 35 guilty of wreaking some type of havoc on their valued device.

While many iPhone customers replace their cell phones after a bout of clumsiness like dropping it in the toilet (a surprisingly frequent occurrence), 11 percent choose to continue to use their phone in their scarred condition. Six percent even claim to have used tape to solve some of their less severe communication problems.

With the recent release of the iPhone 5, industry experts say they are looking forward to comparing durability reports of the new model with previous versions.

Top Five Mishaps Leading to iPhone Repairs:

1. The phone dropped out of my hand

2. The phone fell into a body of water (ranging from a toilet to a lake)